THE GLOBE. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1882. SIR HENRY PARKES.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2704, 7 December 1882, Page 2

THE GLOBE. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1882. SIR HENRY PARKES.

Sib H. Pabkes must feel considerably annoyed at the political situation in New South Wales. For a man who has so long had everything so much his own way to be compelled to resort to a general election, and then to find himself turned out of his own seat, and to see several of hia Ministers in the same predicament, must he calculated to teach him the truth of the saying ns to the instability of all human affairs. And the matter is all the more annoying because Sir Henry’s heart cannot be in the struggle. As is well known the question at issue is respecting the land laws of the country. Tho Ministry were defeated on the second reading of the Lands Act Consolidation Bill, a Bill which, as the name implies, merely solidifies the existing code. Now on the general principles of the New Sonth Wales land laws Sir Henry Parkes never had any very strong opinions ono way or the other. As ho confessed the other day, he has never been able to carry out his own views on the land question, and what is more, ho has never accurately defined what those views are. It is to be inferred that tho subject not being his speciality he has left it to other hands. But the land question is the decided speciality cf ono of Sir Henry’s colleagues, namely, Sir John Robertson, between whom and Sir Henry, expediency alone has brought about an offensive and defensive alliance. Sir John Robertson pins his faith to the existing system, and points to the flourishing state of tho colony as a proof positive that ho is right. During the course of the election he is the only Minister who has spoken out his mind boldly on tho subject. Tho present land laws are the ch id of his old age, and ho is prepared to go to any length in their defence. The curious spectacle is thus presented of a Ministry going to the country on a question in which only ono man among them thoroughly believes. All the Cabinet, except Sir John Robertson, have so far studiously avoided tho land question, and have based their claims for confidence mainly on tho manner in which New South Wales has flourished under their regime. It is probable that this half-hearted manner of conducting proceedings has had more to do than anything with the defeat of Sir Henry Parkes and some of his colleagues in their old constituencies. No man can speak well when he speaks with a mental reservation. The cue of his opponents is such a palpable one that the attack becomes marvellously easy and effective. Sir Henry Parkes has sueceeded in getting in for Tenterfidd without opposition, but some of his colleagues will certainly not be so lucky, and Sir Henry’s prestige will suffer from the fact that hia apathy on a Ministerial question has been paraded before *he country. The whole affair is a striking comment on tho danger of combinations, when all points at issue between leading politicians have not been satisfactorily arranged. As the matter stands, both Sir Henry Parkes and Sir John Robertson may well consider they have a grievance. Tho former will blame the latter for bringing about a crisis on a peint on which the Cabinet were notoriously weak. Tho latter must blame Sir Henry for the lukewarm manner in which he has supported the present land system during the electoral campaign. Even then if Sir Henry Parkes manages to retain office ho can hardly hope that his power will ho as great as it was before tho dissolution. Tho weakness of his Government will have been the common property of the electors. The old proverb, “ omne ignotum pro magnifico,” is as true in politics as it is in anything else. No man is a hero to his valet who sees behind the scenes. The electors of Now Sonth Wales have succeeded in getting a good look behind the curtain, and we all know what that means in matters theatrical and political.

THE NEW GOVERNOR OP WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Thb Liberal Administration have not of late been happy in their selection of Colonial Governors. If fact, not to put too fine a point .upon it, they have made a considerable mesa of the whole concern. A Governor is an official who, above everything, should possess personal popularity. But Liberal Ministers too frequently despise the minor graces. This is a pity, because they frequently suffer by it. It was the discourtesy of Messrs. Ayrton and Lowe that was as instrumental as anything in the Liberal overthrow of 1874. In the present Government Mr. Chamberlain is not the only gentleman who manages to make himself excessively disagreeable. Consequently, perhaps, it is hardly to bo expected that they should look npon a general suavity and popular manners as being a sine qua non for a colonial Governor. To suggest, as the “ Lyttelton Times ” does, this morning that the new appointment to the Governorship of Western Australia will ho a taking one is ridiculous when the facts of the case are known. Mr. Napier Broome when in New Zealand was totally unknown as a public man, but since ho has come out on the political horns m he has managed to make himself generally unpopular. Ho was notably so in South Africa and, to a lesser extent, in Mauritius. No doubt ho is an able man to a certain extent, though ws fancy ho may mainly attribute his rise to bis wife, Lady Barker, who manages to make herself beloved wherever she goes, and who, by the residence of her previous husband in Staffordshire, close to one of the seats of the Bake of Sutherland, has secured the interest of that powerful family. Qui vivra, verra. If Mr. Broome does not manage to make himself disliked in his new sphere wo shall feel very much surprised. This new appointment, coming on the top of the appointment of George Bowen to Hong Hong,

of Sir Arthur Gordon to Jamaica of all places in the world, and of Sir A. Mnsgrave to Ceylon, proves that the Colonial Office in the Liberal hands is not as judicious as it might bo.